


Stick and Poke

by Idekhetalia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Drug Use, Eventual Smut, Florist Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Matt Owns a headshop, Recreational Drug Use, S8 Character, Shadam, Slow Burn, Tattoo Artist Lance (Voltron), adashi, curtis/shiro - Freeform, shurtis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-06-22 02:53:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15572109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idekhetalia/pseuds/Idekhetalia
Summary: Keith stood there, taking and holding the business card and looking at him rather dumbfounded as he spoke. His mouth was dry as he nodded, closing his mouth and staring as he watched him bike away.“Lance.”





	1. First Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> This is a cute lil' Flower Shop/ Tattoo Artist klance piece. Slow burn, eventual smut and angst. Thank you to 8yogurts on Instagram for giving me this prompt. Sorry this is short, next chapter will be longer. I just needed to get introductions done with.

Keith was, to say the least, exhausted of having to deal with people. He loved his little shop, it was calming and he loved being near nature for long periods of time. But he did not like being around people for too long of a time, or really any time at all. So when a customer came in 10 minutes before closing, he did everything he could to not yell and pull out his hair.

 

He didn’t know what to do. It was so late in the day, and this customer looked lost. It wasn’t just from the thousand yard stare, it was how he.. how would you say.. presented himself to the world. The darker clothing that revealed arms covered in, what were those,  _ pen ink tattoos _ ? Oh yeah, those were definitely not real tattoos. They didn’t exactly match the soft theme of his shop, that’s for sure. But what Keith did know, is that he would potentially give him money for his services, so he let the man peak his interest and became curious. What else was he supposed to do?

 

After a moment of straight confusion, came a bit of gay panic. Even though he didn’t belong in a shop like this, this man was definitely a hottie. So he dusted any potting soil off of his apron, fixed his hair, etc.. Then he walked over, put on his best ‘customer service’ smile, and greeted the man. “Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with today? Looking for anything special? A bouquet for a lucky lady? Succulents for a friend? You name it, we’ve probably got it.” His hands moved to clasp behind his back as he spoke, waiting for the man’s response patiently despite his slight annoyance.

 

Lance had known that this shop existed for quite a while, and he was done with his last appointment for the day. He figured that since he had some time left before the closing of the parlor, he could go and look around even though the flower shop was probably closing soon as well. Lance was met with a pleasant surprise, the store was a cute little thing. Akira Blossoms, if he remembered the name correctly. He didn’t look for too long. All the flowers were organized by color and alphabetical order, the walls were gentle green and yellow tones. It was very warm and welcoming, even if what seemed to be the only employee working looked like someone who should be working at his shop. They weren’t standing under blaring lights or heavy metal music, so there was definitely a bit of culture shock when walking into here from the tattoo shop.

 

Crossing his arms over himself, he looked to the shorter man who walked over to him and shot a small smile. He shook his head as he slowly walked around, the sound of his heels hitting the floor disturbing the peaceful silence of the shop. “Oh, no. Nothing specific. I’m just... looking. I work in the Altea Parlor a bit down the way, actually, and it just hit me today that I haven’t been to all the stores down this little strip. I’ve been living here for eight months, and I still haven’t crossed that off. I figured I’d just walk in, look around,” he shrugged his shoulders, “curiosity, y’know. It’s a crazy thing.” He rambled, walking as he talked, even letting off a chuckle. After a moment of looking over everything, he turned back to look at the other and read over his name tag. “So.. Keith, is this your shop?” Lance spoke, his hands going to rest in the back pockets of his jeans as he finally stood still.

 

Keith listened to the other with a soft nod here and there, eventually going to fix the hair tie that was holding the black mess up. He really needed to brush it and give it a proper cleaning, dry shampoo doesn’t work forever. When he heard his name he perked up a little and was wondering if they had met before, but then remembered he had a name tag on. Idiot, he’d remember if he met this man previously. Too good to forget. “Yes, this is my shop. I opened Akira Blossoms a couple of years ago, and I do pretty well. I’m lucky enough that I work in a spot that gets enough foot traffic. Restock week is coming up soon, so I am extremely excited to see what I can get my hands on. Feel free to come back in whenever..” He shrugged.

 

Keith caught himself before talking for longer than he needed to and wanted to, so he just glanced at the clock. 7 minutes until closing. Had it only been three minutes since this guy came in? ‘ _ Oh man, imagine how a date would be _ .’ He thought to himself, deciding to stop that train before it even left the station. Blinking slowly and rubbing his eyes, he grabbed the watering can then started to water the plants. “So, I know you’re only here because you’ve never been in here before. Were you thinking about buying anything, or wanted to get tips on gardening? I’m here to help for.. Until the closing time, which is 7 minutes from now.” ‘ _ Chop chop, pretty boy. _ ’ he smirked to himself as he turned to hide his face behind some bouquets.

 

Lance made sure to stay out of the other's path, because, despite his size and stature, the other seemed to move around quickly. He didn’t want to make the wrong move and bump into him and/or get run over. That wouldn’t be a good first impression at all and he always wanted to have good impressions, especially as someone who often times had to set up his own appointments and respond to walk-ins. You want to trust and like your tattoo artist. “Again, not really. I’m just looking around. But thank you for willing to talk to me!” He gave a toothy grin, stretching his arms over his head after taking them out of his pockets.

 

Keith had finished watering and tidying up the flowers, grabbing the smaller watering can. Moving to the smaller and delicate succulents laid across the table made of colored resin, he began watering them individually. When the man was done speaking he briefly looked up, extremely thrown off by that grin and stretching of his arms. He quickly looked down before he started gawking at him, feeling not only his face but his ears flush. Once he was done and set the watering cans back in their place, Keith looked at the clock to see 4 minutes left. “Christ…” He muttered under his breath, knowing he had to get the other man out of here before closing or else he was going to actually, literally die. He moved to stand behind the counter, starting to clean and keeping a watchful eye as he heard the other starting to move.

 

Lance’s shoes squeaked as soon as his foot moved to take a step, cringing a little bit as it sounded 20 times louder than it really was due to the silence of the shop. He was starting to look over the bouquets, picking up one made of lavender and violet roses. Not even looking at the price tag, he took that and a glass vase to the cash register and looked to Keith. “I changed my mind, I want to get these. My section of the tattoo parlor is so dull, and these are totally almost my colors!.” Lance set the items down, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out his wallet to grab his card.

 

Keith watched the man pick out a bouquet and vase, and seeing him not worrying about the price was.. not to sound materialistic, but it was fucking  _ hot. _ A man who was attractive, confident, and didn’t need to worry about his bank account numbers? Keith could never, and has not ever truly seen a man like that before. After realizing Lance was coming up to check out he went and set up the register, taking the items as they were set down to scan them and carefully setting them back down afterward. “Okay... The vase is $18, and the bouquet is $35. After tax, it comes out to $57.37. Will that be credit or debit, and please insert your chip when ready.” He spoke with a rather bored tone, getting ready for closing. It was so close but also meant this man would have to leave. Oh well, he said he worked nearby, right? He could always go see him, it probably wouldn’t be creepy.  _ Right? _ But before Keith could get lost in thought, he tried to be aware of what was happening and complete this transaction before going off into daydream happy land.

 

Lance nodded after receiving his total, looking to the flowers and then to the card reader. “It’s gonna be, uhh... Debit. Yeah, debit.” He moved, inserting the chip on his card into the reader after Keith pressed the button, pushing in the PIN when prompted and taking his card out as well. He took his receipt and gathered his flowers and put them into the vase. “Alright! Thank you very much.” He looked at the clock, seeing it was almost his closing time. “Oh! Come, meet me outside!” He spoke enthusiastically, starting to head out.

 

Keith let out a soft yawn after the transaction went through on the others card, then was put off by the other speaking so excitedly. He looked at the clock and then shrugged. “It’s not my time, so why not.” He stepped out from behind the counter, starting to head outside. He heard the bell chime as he opened the door to walk out, stopping upon seeing the taller man loading his phone and wallet, alongside the flower and vase into a basket on a... Bike. “Is..” he snorted briefly. “Oh my god. Is... Is that a BMX bike with a basket bungee corded to the front?” He laughed some, covering his mouth. 

 

Lance turned around proudly as he listened to Keith’s question. “This is my baby. And  _ yes, _ it  _ is _ a BMX bike with a basket bungee corded to the front.” He moved, reaching deep down into his pocket and pull out a business card. He walked over to the other, holding it out and handing it to him. “Alright. This is my business card. My name is Lance and I specialize in black and white tattoos. If you’re looking to get a tattoo like that, Altea Parlor is right down the way like I said before. But if you get lost, the address is on there. Just ask for Lance, and I’ll get to you if I can.” He smiled, then walking to the bike. He sat, pushing back the kickstand and starting to go back in the direction of the shop so he could set up his flowers in his portion of the shop.

 

Keith stood there, taking and holding the business card and looking at him rather dumbfounded as he spoke. His mouth was dry as he nodded, closing his mouth and staring as he watched him bike away. “ _ Lance _ .” He muttered to himself as he looked over the business card, then quickly going inside after turning over the sign to say closed. Almost as soon as the door closed, he pulled out his phone and dialed a phone number. Holding it to his ear, anxiously waiting for the other to pick up the line and biting his lip. When the receiver picked up, he spoke before the man could even ask him what was happening.

  
“Shiro, I’m super gay, and you will  _ not _ believe who I just met.”


	2. Lillies and Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tattoo artists and florists talk amongst themselves, mentioning to their colleagues about their newfound ‘friend’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something soft and sweet for everyone. Also, for ages, Pidge is 20, Lance and Hunk are 21, Keith is 22, Allura is 27, Shiro and Adam are 29. To clarify for anyone who’s curious.

Lance biked back to the tattoo shop in a couple of minutes, knowing that it wasn’t too far from the flower shop. He knew the moment he walked in with flowers, everyone was going to tease him. Everyone. So Lance just sucked it up and stepped off the bike, put down the kickstand before gathering everything from the basket. He knew they had water at the shop, and the flowers came with plant food, so they would live throughout the night.  
  
The guy at the flower shop was a little weird. Keith, he remembered. He was nice except for the fact that the other looked at him oddly. Was it because of his ‘tattoos’? Sure they were different, just the stencil from a transfer sheet, but they looked good on him! Was it his clothes? Oh god, did he have something in his teeth? He sure as hell hoped not, because wow would that be awkward and embarrassing.   
  
Holding not only his phone and wallet, he also carried his flowers and vase in tow. Stepping into the shop, he was somewhat thrown off guard by the lack of music. He typically wasn’t around for closing, he was done cleaning his desk and chair before the time to go. Usually, he spent that time out and about trying to sell himself and the tattoo shop so he’d get clients scheduled. When he looked around at everyone cleaning, it felt a little bit nice that he was already finished.

Lance went over to his chair and table, setting the flowers down and then going to one of the several sinks around the shop to fill the vase after removing the tag. After he turned off the water, he heard one of his several shopmates speak up and looked over.

Hunk had watched Lance peruse around the shop with his vase and flowers, everyone silent as they cleaned. He had been genuinely shocked that no one said anything sooner, especially not Pidge, and cleared his throat before he spoke. “So.. I guess on the behalf of everyone at the shop, uh.. What’s going on, Lance? You’ve never gotten flowers before and especially haven’t brought any to the shop. So, what’s the deal? Got a lucky lady we don’t know about?” He had asked only teasingly, not trying to push any buttons or bring something that was unwanted up.

Listening to his friend, Lance let out a light chuckle as he shook his head some. “No, no. I just wanted to go to the flower shop down the way. It was super cool! I’ve never been, but it looked like it would be pretty nice.” He smiled some, arranging the flowers in the bouquet. “It’s that Akira’s Blossoms spot. I don’t understand the name, I think that the shopkeeper just works under whoever owns it. Akira is a little bit of a girly name. I dunno.” He shook his head again as he shrugged.

Pidge looked over to Lance and Hunk from her homework, rolling her eyes behind the glass frames. “Whatever, he probably just saw a cute girl on the street and wanted to smooth her over so he rushed into the shop to get her something. At least the flowers are pretty.” She sighed and listened to Hunk laugh, her eyes going back to her homework as Allura walked back in from the back of the shop.

Lance sighed heavily and looked over to Allura with dead eyes. “Hey, ‘Llura. Get your little apprentice in check. She might be my friend and younger than me but I can’t tell her what to do. C’mon.” He motioned over to the younger girl, seeing Allura sigh as she put her hair up into a ponytail. “Pidge, be nice,” she started speaking, seeing that winning grin he often took on from the corner of her eye. “And Lance, don’t tell _me_ what to do. My shop, my rules.”

He rolled his eyes a little bit at that but finished putting together the bouquet in his vase. “Plus, _Pidge_ , there is no girl. I was just genuinely interested in going into the shop. It was a lovely and soft-looking place, but the guy working the shop looked like he should be working here. I don’t know, that’s just how I felt about it. But it was really cool! He was closing up shop when I walked in, so he did seem tired and already tired of me as soon as I walked in.” He laughed some, looking over the roses and violets. “I liked being in there. I’m sure if I went in a little bit earlier, he wouldn’t be so moody towards me. I bet he’s really enthusiastic about his plants and knowledge about them. He seemed like he could be really nice if I was around him at the right place and time.” He grinned.

Consecutively, the three seemed to share the same deadpan look between themselves, Pidge looking the most apathetic out of the group. Allura sighed, stretching as she stepped behind the cash register counter to stand next to Pidge. “Well, Lance, it seems like you may have made a new friend. Perhaps you two would be able to talk about flowers and tattoos and how wildly different they are on any spectrum.” Allura said as she opened the register, counting out the cash and change they had after the day. Pidge snorted a little bit, setting down her pen and homework to rub her eyes behind the lenses. “I dunno, Allura. Maybe they’ll be more likely to share a bed than--” She was quickly interrupted by not only the older woman quickly giving her a look and covering her mouth, but also by Hunk speaking up again.

Hunk glared at the apprentice of the shop, but then looked over to Lance. “Yeah. Maybe you guys can talk about the anatomy of flowers so you know how to tattoo them better. Considering you seem to attract all the women who not only walk in but set appointments and they usually want some kind of flower design. Maybe talk about what colors coordinate, whether it be bouquet organizing or tattoo shades.” Hunk shrugged, finishing cleaning up his area of the shop and starting to sanitize his tattoo bench.

Lance listened to Hunk’s suggestion with somewhat open ears, almost not catching it as he sat at his work desk. “Huh. That actually sounds pretty nice. Maybe I’ll go visit him again sometime so we can plan something out..” Lance smiled and shrugged, getting ready to leave the shop to go home.

⥈

Shiro picked up the phone as he saw that Keith was calling, listening and his eyebrows went up in a bit of confusion after processing the words being spoken to him.  
“Shiro, I’m super gay, and you will not believe who I just met.”   
He let out a soft sigh, his hand pulling over his face and resting back into the couch. “Keith. Hey, Keith, calm down. I--I know you’re excited, but you need to breathe.” He tried to calm his brother, shifting to sit back further into the cushions of his couch.

Keith was pacing around the shop after making sure he had the sign shown to say close, trying to calm his breathing so he didn’t send himself into a panic attack. That would be bad, especially since he just met one of the cutest boys ever. Like, _ever._ “Shiro, what am I supposed to do? He's so cute. He’s tall and handsome and his skin is amazingly clear, his hair looks like caramel and he’s probably just as sweet as it too. What the hell am I gonna do? Schedule an appointment for a fucking tattoo just so I can see him again? _I don’t even want to get a tattoo but I’d be willing,_ Shiro. _Willing_! It's that bad.” He explained, feeling fairly out of breath afterwards and trying to calm himself down.

Shiro groaned. “Keith, you’re really freaking out about it this much? You really are? Why? What for? It's a cute boy who works down the street from you, _go see him._ It's not that hard, and you’re bold. Like, excessively bold from time to time.” Shiro spoke as he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling that he needed to go and get a haircut soon. He felt his boyfriend walk over to him and wrap his arms around his shoulders from behind, leaning into the other as he listened to Keith go off.

Keith grumbled. “You know, you can shut your mouth, Shiro. You’re my older brother, I should be able to call you and complain about cute guys that make my heart explode without you talking back. Especially when I had to deal with when you first met and started dating Adam.” He huffed some, standing still behind the counter with a hand on his hip.

Laughing, Shiro nodded a little. “Which I do understand where you’re coming from, believe me. I know I was hard to deal with during that time and honestly? I still am. _But_ , I am also your older brother, _so I get to make fun of you for this._ It’s older sibling privilege, and you know that.” He joked. “In all seriousness… it sounds like you’re interested in this guy. But you should find out if he’s into guys before going for him.Y’know.. to prevent that emotional pain.”

Keith listened and nodded some to himself, opening the register to start counting the cash he made today. He had to get ready for his restock, and couldn’t be down. “Yeah.. he seemed straight, but he could be bi? I hope so, because if he is.. I am definitely going for it. Except discreet because I’m terrible at flirting when I’m sober.” He joked, counting out the dollars. “I hope he is some kind of queer, that would be really wonderful.” He hummed to himself.

Shiro sighed some, feeling his phone buzz and taking a look at the message he got. “I do completely understand. But, I have someone waiting for me downstairs at the front, so I’m going to hand you over to Adam and let you two talk. Bottoms talk better about boyfriends than I ever will.” He stood from his spot on the couch, handing the other man the phone and leaning to kiss him softly before heading downstairs.

Adam happily kissed him back and took the phone, bringing it up to his ear. “So, you’ve met a new guy that’s cute or hot or whatever, and you’re looking for advice on how to ‘woo’ him?” He asked fairly bluntly, walking to look in the fridge for possibly something to snack on.

Keith huffed as he finished counting the cash from the register, writing down the total for today. Groaning a bit as he stepped to the back room of his shop, he nodded to himself. “I mean.. you could call it that. I’m not trying to just get laid though, if you know what I mean. It’s just… I think this could be a very good thing and.. you know me, Adam. This stuff doesn’t happen often.” He shifted a little bit, looking around. “Okay, I’m putting you on speakerphone. I have to clean up, I just closed the shop.”

He grabbed the broom and dustpan from the closet in the back, stepping out to the shop and setting his phone down on the counter and turning speakerphone on. He began to sweep, paying attention to where he was as the floor wasn’t too dirty.

Adam shifted, settling on the bowl of grapes to snack on as he spoke with Keith. Popping a couple in his mouth and chewing, he thought for a moment. “So, you do want to ‘woo’ him, but not only sexually. I can work with that. What information do you know about him? Just so I can get a scope of how you should go about this, y'know.” He spoke rather bluntly, pushing his hair back from his face some as he ate more grapes.

Keith kept sweeping around, stepping closer to the phone so Adam could hear better when he spoke. “I know his name, his phone number, email address, and the address of where he works. He works at the tattoo shop a few doors down across the street, but he gave me his business card in case I want to get a tattoo. That’s not very promising in the department of _I want to go out and/or sleep with you_.”

He stopped when he heard Adam laugh from the other like, looking to his phone. “What? Why is that so funny? Did Shiro do something dumb like that before you guys started dating too? I wouldn’t be surprised if he had, it’s just in line with how he’s been _all his life_.” Keith snorted to himself, waiting for Adam’s response.

The man finished laughing and sighed, humming. “It sounds like Shiro, but no, he didn’t do anything like that. It’s just funny because you’re pining for this guy who, you don’t even know is into dudes, and are already complaining after knowing him for what? 30 minutes, maybe an hour? That sounds _just in line_ for you.” He grinned, eating a couple more grapes.

Keith glared some, leaning down to finish sweeping up and gathering the last of everything from the floor into the dust pan. “You know what, Adam? You’re an asshole.” He said as he shook his head, but laughed some. “Even though you’re completely right, it doesn’t make you any less of an asshole.” He dumped what was in the dustpan into the trash can, picking his phone back up and turning it off speakerphone for now.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Ha ha, don’t talk like you didn’t give me shit when I came to you for stuff about Takashi. _Anyways_ , here’s my advice on the boy. Just.. talk to him. You have his phone number, you can text. If you want to be extra, visit him at the tattoo shop. Maybe don’t go all out and bring him flowers and everything, but ask him if he’d want to hang out or go for dinner some time. But, and listen very closely, _do not take him to watch a movie._ I repeat, _do not go to the movies._ If you want to watch something, do it at your place. It can be a little less formal, and is definitely cheaper. Plus you guys can talk without getting in trouble. And if you do wind up at the down and dirty, please use protection and be safe. I don’t want to be part of a search party because you went missing and find your body in the woods or something.”

Sighing as he began to clean the glass counters and tables, Keithheld the phone close. “Adam, I’m gonna be careful. Promise. I mean, even if he’s into guys, there’s a slim chance that he’ll actually want to go out with me. So there’s that whole thing. But, nonetheless, I’ll be safe.” He reassured him, wiping down the glass carefully.

Adam nodded, popping a few grapes into his mouth and putting the bowl back into the fridge. “Okay. Just have to check. But you _should_ be fine if you follow those rules.” He turned around as he heard a knock on the door, humming. “Alright, Shiro just got back upstairs, so I’m gonna help him bring stuff in. You have to let me know how it goes, talk to you later. Bye.” He spoke cheerfully before hanging up, setting the phone down to help his boyfriend bring boxes inside.

Keith set the phone down and looked around the clean shop, also seeing the sun setting so he figured now was a good time to head home. He took off and folded his apron, took his hair down from the ponytail, and slipped his jacket on. He was tired from the long day and wanted to just melt into his bed or his couch, so he pulled out his phone to text his roommate after grabbing his bags. He walked as he typed, turning out the lights and locking the door. ‘Hey Matt, can you please load a bowl? I’m on my way home, and you will not _believe_ the day I’ve had. Thanks’. He pressed send and took a deep breath, taking a seat in his car and starting the engine before making the short ten minute drive back to his apartment 2 miles away.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on  
> Tumblr: idekhetalia  
> Instagram: @idekart.ash  
> Amino: idekart.ash


End file.
